Comment from an evangelical presbyterian perspective and an orthodox confessionally reformed outlook.

Monday, 27 October 2014

Multi
Faith Infiltration

Looking for material that might be useful for our high school’s
Remembrance Day event, I happened to chance upon materials published by the Church
of Scotland’s Mission and Discipleship Council, designed originally for events
remembering the start of World War One in August 1914.

It makes interesting reading.
What resources does the national church believe would be useful in a
Christian service? There are the usual Bible
readings, poems, prayers and sermon outlines. However, in addition there is an
eclectic collection of inter-faith materials which the Council believe
ministers may wish to read during the vigil.

They contain such beauties as:

“Viswa
Kalyaana mantra (A mantra for the good of the entire universe)

Om

Asato maa
sad gamaya

Tamaso maa
jyotir gamaya

Mrutyor maa
amrutam gamaya

Om shantih
shantih shantihi

May we go
from the unreal to the Real; from darkness (of ignorance) to the Light (of knowledge);
from Death (the sense of limitation) to Immortality (limitlessness,
liberation). Om

Peace,
Peace, Peace!”

Not to be outdone, in addition to the four pantheistic mantras, Sikhism is also represented by a speech
for the 11th November containing these words of affirmation:

“The Sikh
faith is a distinct religion revealed through the teachings of the ten Gurus,
the first of whom was Guru Nanak Dev Ji. He was born in 1469 CE in the Punjab,
India. Guru in the Sikh faith means a Prophet a special messenger sent by God
to help humanity. One who takes mortals from darkness to the Divine light.

The Gurus
were the Divine Light who conveyed Gurbani (Word of God) and were all
spiritually one. The tenth and the last human Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, in 1708
vested spiritual authority in the Guru Granth Sahib Ji (the Holy Sikh Scriptures)
and temporal authority in the Khalsa Panth (the community of baptised Sikhs)”

Good to know that the Guru can take us from Darkness to Divine
Light and that the Word of God has been so effectively conveyed through the ten
Sikh Gurus – I mistakenly thought that it was the Lord Jesus Christ who was the
Light of the World, the only Mediator between God and man and the Word
incarnate.

But we mustn’t forget our Muslim friends, for the following
prayer is provided for use in the service:

‘O Allah,
to You belongs all praise

You are
the Light of the heavens and Earth and all that is within them.

To You
belongs all praise,

You are
the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens and Earth and all that is within them.

To You
belongs all praise.

You are
Lord of the heavens and the Earth and all that is within them.

To You
belongs all praise

You are
The Truth, Your promise is true, your Word is true, and the Day on which we
will encounter You is true,

The
Messenger and the believers with him, believe in what has been bestowed upon
him from on high by his Sustainer…”

The “Messenger” of course is a reference to Mohammed and what has been bestowed upon him is a reference to the Quran (Koran).

Indeed, things become even more curious when a Nepalese mantra
is included in Devanagari script with transliteration but no translation!

However, just to protect their backs the document ends with
the disclaimer, “The views expressed in
these materials are those of the individual writer and not necessarily the
official view of the Church of Scotland, which can be laid down only by the
General Assembly.”

I must have missed the chorus of complaints from the
in-it-to-win-it evangelicals remaining within the denomination. I know of no official
protest from any Church of Scotland minister, Kirk Session, or Presbytery that
their church is producing such multi-faith materials or that evangelical
givings are being used to subsidise sub-evangelical propaganda. Perhaps their
philosophy is that to “win it” it is best to keep silent when biblical truth
regarding the exclusivity of Christ and salvation in him alone is undermined.

About Me

With degrees in both philosophy and theology, I have lived and worked in the UK, West Africa (working in theological education) and the USA. As a Teaching Elder I served for 19 years in the Church of Scotland and 4 years in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (USA). I am a minister of the Free Church of Scotland, and a member in St Andrews Free Church, Fife.

I am married to my wonderful wife Aileen, who has supported and moulded me over 40 years of marriage - an ongoing project that may yet pay dividends, although it requires great patience on her part.